Alarm signal

In the field of animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation referring to various signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators. For example, the characteristic alarm call of the blackbird is a familiar sound in many gardens. Other animals, like fish and insects, may use other non-auditory signals, such as chemical messages. While visual signs have been suggested as alarm signals, they are easier to pinpoint by predators and less likely to be received by conspecifics, so have tended to be treated as a signal to the predator instead. An animal who signals an alarm is called an alarmer.

Different calls may be used for predators on the ground or from the air. Often, the animals can tell which member of the group is making the call, so that they can disregard those of little reliability.

Evidently, alarm signals promote survival by allowing the receivers of the alarm to escape from the source of peril, but this ecological safety system may come at a cost to the signaller. When an animal calls attention to itself by signalling, it may be more likely to be eaten by a predator than if it had kept quiet. This intuition has been verified by experimental data on ground squirrel predation rates and the connection between this and the noisy chirping or whistling alarm calls. However, there is also some evidence that alarm calls can increase individual fitness as well.

Alarm signal

In the field of animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation referring to various signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators. For example, the characteristic alarm call of the blackbird is a familiar sound in many gardens. Other animals, like fish and insects, may use other non-auditory signals, such as chemical messages. While visual signs have been suggested as alarm signals, they are easier to pinpoint by predators and less likely to be received by conspecifics, so have tended to be treated as a signal to the predator instead. An animal who signals an alarm is called an alarmer.

Different calls may be used for predators on the ground or from the air. Often, the animals can tell which member of the group is making the call, so that they can disregard those of little reliability.

Evidently, alarm signals promote survival by allowing the receivers of the alarm to escape from the source of peril, but this ecological safety system may come at a cost to the signaller. When an animal calls attention to itself by signalling, it may be more likely to be eaten by a predator than if it had kept quiet. This intuition has been verified by experimental data on ground squirrel predation rates and the connection between this and the noisy chirping or whistling alarm calls. However, there is also some evidence that alarm calls can increase individual fitness as well.

Latest News for: alarm calls

Victoria’s City Council balked at a proposal to charge a registration fee for residents with alarm systems. Council members Tuesday objected to an ordinance that would require people with an automatic alarm system to pay an annual $50 fee ... Jameson said 90 percent of calls triggered by automatic systems were false alarms....

Dec. 17-18. Firecalls. 11.35 a.m., 1300 block of 8th Street; alarm. 5.14 p.m., 1300 block of 8th Street; alarm...Rescuecalls ... Dispute over cellphone. On Dec. 11, a call came into the Platte CountySheriff's Office regarding a dispute over a phone ... On Sunday, a call came in to the Sheriff's Office reporting suspicious activity around a cemetery near Duncan....

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Air Force base in Ohio plans to release its findings into a chaotic "active shooter" false alarm after a 911call to base security ... Authorities said at the time that the call came during on-base training that included an active shooter scenario in another base area, but a link wasn't clear....

... grabbed at them after they locked him in a holding cell.Officers charged James Lacroix with witness intimidation, vandalizing property, assault and battery, and assault and battery on an officer.They were first called to the woman's house after she activated her medical alarm....

MILLERSBURG — As rain poured down outside on Sunday, saturating fields and raising creek levels, residents in Millersburg were surprised to find they had little or no running water in their houses. "Sunday morning we received an alarm and multiple calls about no water," VillageAdministrator Nate Troyer said ... ....

“Mr ... READ ... The woman in the videos allegedly discovered them on a computer in the home and called the cops ... As police investigated, they also learned Neal was allegedly calling his victims and trying to stop them from testifying against him. “There were comments made, that were not threatening in nature, but did alarm the victim and/or witness,” Lt ... Lt....

A husband has been dubbed the PolishFritzl as he was jailed for 25 years for abusing his wife. Mariusz Sz kept her in a dark cellar where she was raped by him, his brothers and other men who he would charge £4 ...CEN) ... She eventually managed to raise the alarm when she escaped from the cellar and called her mother, fearful for her two young daughters ... ....

The “newborn safety device” would lock from the outside after an infant is placed inside, trigger a call to 911 within 30 seconds and include visible instructions about its use ...Kelsey, a firefighter and paramedic who herself was abandoned as an infant, said the boxes include two alarms that call 911 when it is opened and closed with a child inside....

at Thursday's forum ... The community forum is slated to begin at 6.30 p.m ... The 2016 plans had called for a three-story building similar to the one that had stood for years before the three-alarm fire raced through the wood-frame structure as stunned neighbors and others watched from the street the Sunday morning of Oct. 26, 2014 ... ....

Rory Tevlin. December 19 2018 8.27 AM. 0 Comments Man arrested after homeowner slashed during terrifying raid. Independent.ie... Email ... The alarm was raised after concerned neighbours heard loud shouts coming from the house and called to the property off Cathedral Road in Cork shortly after 6pm yesterday ... ....

Ralph Riegel Twitter Email. December 19 2018 2.30 AM. 0 Comments Hunt for raider who attacked a man after breaking into his home. Independent.ie... Email ... The alarm was raised after concerned neighbours heard loud shouts coming from the house and called to the property off Cathedral Road in Cork shortly after 6pm yesterday ... ....